Verizon Lobbies FCC Against Online Blackouts During Retrans Spats
Verizon lobbied FCC officials against online services blackouts by broadcasters during retransmission consent disputes with multichannel video programming distributors, as the telco and other MVPDs seek to change retrans rules. The agency should find a violation of the good-faith retrans…
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standard when a programming blackout is extended to online services that otherwise would be available to MVPD broadband subscribers, the telco said its representatives told front-office and other Media Bureau staff including Deputy Chief Michelle Carey and Associate Chief Nancy Murphy, plus acting FCC Chief Economist Jonathan Levy and Susan Aaron from the Office of General Counsel. "Blacking out a signal just before the airing of marquee programming, such as the Super Bowl or the Oscars, should constitute per se evidence of bad faith," said Verizon in a filing posted Tuesday in docket 10-71. Other retrans requests included that there should be interim carriage of stations' programming after a contract has expired. NAB has said some MVPDs are essentially asking the commission to require stations be carried without broadcaster consent (see 1603170056). “There’s nothing surprising in this wish list from Verizon, which abhors government intervention in a free market except when asking the FCC to block local TV stations from getting fair value for popular content," an NAB spokesman responded Tuesday. "Retrans rules provide incentives for both broadcasters and pay-TV companies to reach mutually beneficial agreements. That’s why 99 percent of agreements are reached with no fanfare and no disruption in service.”